


14 Days

by fairy_tale_echo



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/M, Movie Spoilers, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-03-21
Packaged: 2018-01-16 01:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1326862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairy_tale_echo/pseuds/fairy_tale_echo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These are the two weeks they had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Night Three

Here’s what Veronica Mars knows at 28: you never stop having nightmares.  

Even when you haven’t investigated a case in nine years.  Even when you have walked away from every dark, twisted, sad, seedy thing - you never stop having nightmares.  You still have the nightmares even when your life is like an NPR episode: full of good wine, a reliable partner, and nice brunches in Park Slope.

The nightmares still come.  In fact, the nightmares never stop in all those years.

_Blonde hair, sticky with blood and clumps of brain._   
_The buzz of a razor that signals degradation and humiliation._   
_Waking up bleary-eyed and afraid, your mind blank and your panties gone._   
_The freefall horror of believing your father has been blown up in the sky -_

Oh yes, the nightmares still come.

And for nine years, Veronica Mars rides out these nightmares, wakes up sweating and shaking from them, and does her best to not disturb her partners. From one-night stands to Piz, who she has lived with longer than any man, she never shares these moments. To do so would be to admit their power, the power of her past,  in a way Veronica simply will not allow.

She walks out of bedrooms, curls up on the floors of bathrooms, and never - not ever - gives in and lets anyone see the nightmare roll through her.

Piz, no surprise, he is the sweetest and the best.  Sometimes if it is a nightmare violent enough to wake him too, he will sit outside the bathroom door, breathing softly as she calms herself down on the other side. He never tries to breach this door, breach her defenses.  He knows better than to try that. He just waits for her to return to bed, never mentioning a word about it.

That’s how it is with nightmares.  That’s how it is with Veronica.

Until she has a new image that will live with her forever, Gia Goodman in the black, messy pool of what used to be her insides; her hand outstretched for Veronica’s, her eyes a silent plea for Veronica to get her out of this mess - isn’t that what Veronica Mars _does_?

Not now, not now - _she_ did this, sloppy fucking work with the radio, she was lazy and she did this and Gia Goodman is dead right in front of her and it’s all _her_ fault …

Veronica wakes from this nightmare in Neptune, gasping and shaking so hard she feels like she might fly apart.  She sits straight up, a little confused about where exactly she is but with one clear thought on her mind - she must get out of this bed where a person sleeps beside her, she must get out of her so she can be alone, so she can deal with this newest horror. Without hesitation she swings her legs over the side of the bed, prepared to flee and -

a firm hand on her shoulder, a single word.

“Veronica.”

This one word, this one low word, wrenches her exactly in the present moment.  It is not a stranger sleeping beside her, it is not even Piz, her reliable, kind, sweet partner.

Logan Echolls is sleeping beside her and he will not - would never - let her disappear.

In this moment, the raw adrenaline still coursing under her skin, the horror still fresh in her mind, Veronica must decide what to do next.  Should she pull free of Logan and run for his bathroom?  And then she knows.  It would not matter.  He would follow her.  He would talk to her through the door, reassuring and steady, he would not go away.  He would not be silent.

And that’s why she’s here.

Because Logan Echolls breaches her defenses. Always.

Because, in the end, she has _chosen_ to open the door on her past, on all the things she has done wrong, on the nightmares, and let him in.

She takes another shaky breath and, instead of running, turns to face him. He doesn’t say a word, just holds her gaze.  He gives her the space she needs.

“It was Gia,” she begins, laying back down in their bed.

He opens his arms and she slides into them.  He kisses the top of her head and holds her tightly.

“It was Gia and...I watched as she bled out,” she goes on, her voice a whisper in the half-light.

At 28, Veronica Mars knows the nightmares never stop.  But now she knows this too: running won’t get you anything but more nightmares.  

She’s done with running.  She’s ready to see what’s next.


	2. Morning Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s a long moment of silence before Dick asks, pensively almost, “What kind of fucking people did we go to school with, Mars?”
> 
> “I wish I knew.”

The fact that she is surprised to find Dick Casablancas drinking straight from the milk carton in his own kitchen at 6 AM is embarrassing on several levels.

The first is that she’s _supposed_ to be renowned for her observational skills, her detection skills if you will, and yet she didn’t notice any of the signs another person was in the house or remember that this is technically not Logan’s house.  Not great detective work there, Mars.

The second is that she didn’t notice or think of any of that because she is undeniably distracted by pure happiness and even marshmallows should have some self-respect.

“You are a grown man,” she shouts at Dick in surprise, “use a glass!”

Of course, he pays her no heed and continues to slurp down the milk.  When he’s done, he gives her a shit-eating leer and puts the milk right back in the fridge.  “Morning, Ronnie.  Welcome home.”

 _Home_.  The word reverberates in her ears.   _Home_.

Suddenly, she realizes she is standing in front of Dick wearing only a short nightgown and a slip of panties.  This might explain the leer.

“It’s my milk,” he defends, still smirking.

“It doesn’t matter,” she hisses. “When you are an adult with other adults living in your house, you don’t drink out of the carton.  It’s part of our social contact.”

“Uh, are you living here now?  Because that’s quick, even for you two crazy kids and -”

She sighs.  “You know I meant Logan.”

“He doesn’t live here, princess.  He’s just been riding out the latest scandal at Casa … Casablanacas.” He giggles to himself at this little phrase.

“You should still use a glass.  It’s basic manners.”

Dick waggles his eyebrows at her.  “Says the woman standing in my kitchen revealing Victoria’s Greatest Secret.”

She glares at him. “I didn’t know that -”

Dick cuts her off, “You didn’t know that I’d be in my own house? Yes, that’s a shocker.”

“Oh, fuck off, Dick,” she spits out, turning to storm back to the bedroom, throw all her stuff into a bag and shake Logan awake, telling him it was time to either go to wherever he called a house when he crashed in Neptune or even, for old time’s sake, book a room at the Grand.

“Hey,” he calls to her back, his voice somehow softer, “c’mon Ronnie, I’m just teasing. You know...you know…” his voice falters a little and this split-second of, dare she call it vulnerability, is enough to stop her in her tracks.  Not enough to make her turn around, though. “You know I’m glad you’re here,” he finishes, his voice totally serious.

Well, that’s enough.

When she turns to face him, she sees Dick Casablancas as a grown man for the first time and it startles her, really, to see how different he is.  She’d taken for granted how much everyone else had changed but Dick; he’d seemed stuck in a time-warp.  Until right this second when she can suddenly see the years, the deaths, the losses, all the dirt of Neptune weighing on him.

“I didn’t - I don’t know -” now she’s the one who feels awkward and tongue-tied.

“Yeah, you do,” he says lowly.  “Logan, man - he’s the one fucker who has never let me down.  He’s the one person who didn’t - didn’t turn away in disgust when all that shit broke with Beaver.  He’s always stood by me, even when he got his life together I stayed the same beach bum. We’re closer than brothers, after all the shit we’ve been through. But even when he was at his best, even when all his stars were aligned… I always knew, Veronica, I always knew he was missing something.”

She ducks her head, wants to look away from the spectacle of Dick Casablancas being serious.  He doesn’t care.  

“And now here you are.  Standing in my kitchen, in the fucking debris of another disaster - ever notice how those seem to trail you around, Veronica Mars?  With some more dead classmates and - “

“I’m sorry about Gia,” Veronica whispers, hoping Dick knows how much she means it.

“Shit, what’ve you got to apologize for?”  Dick waves a hand dismissively. “Know what I learned a long time ago?  The only person to blame is the person who pulls the trigger and the sooner you figure that out, the better you’ll feel.”

Could it be Dick Casablancas just offered her the most profound piece of insight she’s ever heard?  

“I guess that’s true,” she says almost reluctantly.

“But I do wish … I guess I wish I’d known what happened on the boat that night.  I - I wouldn’t have let them throw her overboard, you know.”

And she does actually know that. Dick is a lot of things but he’s loyal and deep down in his own weird way, he’s fair.  You couldn’t guilt Dick into taking the blame for something he’d think of as an accident. Veronica knows that, if nothing else, his vast narcissism would have convinced him he’d never be found guilty of something he didn’t do, so he’d’ve made sure they just sailed in and took the trouble coming their way.   

“I know.”

There’s a long moment of silence before Dick asks pensively almost, “What kind of fucking people did we go to school with, Mars?”

“I wish I knew.”

“So, yeah.  Another dead classmate, more disaster, more human wreckage and there - in the middle of it all is Logan, yet again with ignorant fingers pointing at him and … and …” Now it’s Dick who looks away from her, swallows and shakes his head.  “I wanted you to come, Veronica.  I wanted you to come and … I’m glad you’re here.  Finally.  Again.  I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” she says and she’s a little surprised at how steady and loud her own voice is.

“Now just make sure you don’t fucking leave again.”

It’s to Dick Casablanca in his kitchen as the sun is beginning to rise, that she says out loud for the first time the realization she’s had about her future.  

“I won’t.”

And she means it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Dick Casablancas, no apologies! So, I wanted to give him a scene worthy of his loyalty and friendship to Logan and (what I hope seems in character) world-view. And I thought it would be a good POV for Veronica to see through.


	3. Day Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She thinks of how she never entertained the possibility of this wonder - Logan Echolls and a house on the beach.

“Please tell me he is pranking us,” Veronica mumbled sleepily.

It is 8 AM and Dick Casablancas is in his shower singing My Heart Will Go On so loudly that his wavering, sincere warbling has woken Veronica up from a deep sleep.

“Actually, no,” Logan replied. “I think he unironically loves Celine Dion.  We saw her three times in Vegas.”

“Wait.  Did you just say you saw Celine Dion three times in Vegas?”

“Front row at Caesars Palace.  But don’t focus on that.  Focus on how he’s going to start singing The Power of Love next.”

Veronica moaned and put the pillow over her head.

“[A woman in a giant white dress flew over us while someone played the piccolo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNIPqafd4As),” Logan said, his voice disbelieving.

She couldn’t help it.  She giggled.

How could it feel this good, being woken up by the sound of Dick screeching “ _You’re heeeeeeeeeeere, there’s nothing I feeeeeeeeeeeear!_ ”?

And then she felt Logan’s fingers skimming along her arm, sending delicious chills up her spine.

Oh yeah.

\--

“OK, I am officially asking if you have a place of your own in Neptune.  Which, come to think of, I should have asked much sooner.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Besides the fact I just found Dick in the kitchen sitting on the countertop wearing only tighty-whiteys, eating Froot Loops, and humming a Whitney Houston song?”

“Good enough reason.”

\--

And that’s how Veronica finds herself and her small bag of belongings in Logan’s small beach bungalow.  It’s not too far from Dick’s, but much harder to get to, it’s tucked in a small corner cove and though it’s not very big, Veronica knows the location means it cost a small fortune.  The bedroom is the largest room and it has huge wrap-around windows that face out to the ocean.  It’s even closer to the shore than Dick’s.

“I wasn’t here often,” Logan apologizes and Veronica can tell from the thin layer of dust on everything.  “I spent most of the short times I was in Neptune at Dick’s or sometimes Carrie’s.  I kept this place - I’m not sure why.”

“I know why,” Veronica says, staring out the huge windows and watching the waves crash.  It’s a quiet, breathtaking little place.

He puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes.  

She pretends she didn’t hear the phrase “short times” in his sentence, doesn’t know that although these past four days have felt like forever they aren’t, they’re a short time too, clicking closer down to the time he’ll leave Neptune again.

“I think now I know why too,” he whispers.

\--

She can’t remember the last time she behaved like this.  No, that’s not right.  She doesn’t think she’s ever behaved like this.  It took them five days to figure out Logan has his own place, to connect that they should move there out of his bedroom at Dick Casablanca’s house.  

And Veronica knows why: it had taken them five days to take their hands off each other.  Clichéd but true, the first five days had been a haze of reconnecting.  At first, the reconnecting was body-to-body and skin-to-skin as they relished the pleasure of being with each other physically again (and relished too, she knows, being alive, being free, surviving another catastrophe.)  But the reconnecting quickly turned to something other than just the physical contact - conversations and laughs and stories of the past nine years flowing freely - and even that had kept them too busy to think of leaving Dick’s.

But now here they are - Logan’s little house on the ocean in the middle of no where. Not that she’d ever let herself think of the possibility of this but if she had, well, it was never mansions or gentrified New York with Logan Echolls.  It was never Paris or Rome.  It was this - a little house, a brilliant sunset, and the waves outside.

“We should dust, go food shopping, unpack what little we brought, think of dinner  -” she says half-heartedly.

Logan moves his hand from her shoulder and winds his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his body.  He leans to nuzzle her neck and her heart (still, always) races.

“We can do that _later_.  But  _n_ _ow_ we should … take off our shoes and go wade in the water.”

And she thinks of all the ways she never let herself imagine this moment.  She thinks of all the years it took her to get right here. She thinks of how sometimes on the subway she’d close her eyes and try so hard to convince herself she wasn’t missing the salty smell of the ocean.

She thinks of how she never entertained the possibility of this wonder - Logan Echolls and a house on the beach.

She says the only thing she possibly can.

“Yes,” a murmur, a promise, a celebration all at once.  “Yes, let’s do that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Finally a chance to return to writing in this fandom, glorious! This will be a multi-part series that charts the two weeks Veronica tells us that she and Logan spent together. I feel full of inspiration and I have it all sketched out, so hopefully I'll be able to get it all out quickly - I just wanted to post immediately because I am guessing others are as desperate for new fic/post-movie fic as I am. ;) I think there might be a companion piece about the 180 days, but we shall see how these first 14 days go. Welcome back, everyone! <3


End file.
